Building a Better Salad Bar

Directors share tips for success and offer insight into how new meal regs are forcing changes.

Greenville County Schools in South Carolina found simplicity was best when it came to its salad bars. Eileen Staples, director of food and nutrition services, says she tried adding more variety to her bars but it wasn’t successful. “We have found that it needs to be simple,” she says. “We combined all the vegetables into the serving bowl and allow students to choose their protein items. Too many items slows service, giving students less time to eat or making them return late to the classroom.”

Greenville’s salad bars, called vegetation stations, are offered as a reimbursable meal when the salad is paired with a whole-grain bread stick and one of the rotating housemade soups.

The district also uses the Go, Slow, Whoa spotlight identifiers on its salad bars to help students make healthier decisions.

City officials are weighing changes to school menus less than one year after earlier changes drew parent criticism. Officials say those menu changes were not final, and an advisory board is suggesting healthier, fresher dishes and a more expansive in-class breakfast program.